Article by Badi Nazhat
- Thread starter Houstoer
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There is something similar to the dilemma of pro pool happening in the pro cycling world at the moment. I'd put up a link, but on ye olde phone now...
One of the pro team owners is a man who owns a company called tinkoff (communications? Finance?) and his complaint is that there is no support from governing bodies with respect to raising capital for the teams.
As he- and cj and Markgw- says, there must be staff whose sole objective is the generation of funding and seeing that funding is used to benefit the sport as a whole, not using the funds to support themselves.
As the sport grows, players' income growth will follow. Can't happen the other way around, it is a relatively simple theory, but one that current participants generally ignore, Admittedly because of their immediate/ individual financial needs...
One of the pro team owners is a man who owns a company called tinkoff (communications? Finance?) and his complaint is that there is no support from governing bodies with respect to raising capital for the teams.
As he- and cj and Markgw- says, there must be staff whose sole objective is the generation of funding and seeing that funding is used to benefit the sport as a whole, not using the funds to support themselves.
As the sport grows, players' income growth will follow. Can't happen the other way around, it is a relatively simple theory, but one that current participants generally ignore, Admittedly because of their immediate/ individual financial needs...
Thread drift. :grin-square:
Black-Balled, they are currently creating a brand-new bike path on Broad Branch Road in Northwest D.C. to connect with a bike path in Friendship Heights all the way to Bethesda, which means one can ride a bike from Bethesda all the way to the Watetgate Hotel on the Potomac. Should be complete by end of 2014. STRONG for bikers.
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled thread: Article by Badi Nazhat.
I guess everyone involved with chasing him off should feel ashamed of themselves,like Randal and Dante on Clerks 2 did when Lance Dowds showed them up to flaunt his success after the pickle-bite incident.
I truly believe based on his writing that he could VERY easily be the goose that WOULD have laid the golden egg for the game. Thanks to bad decisions,timing,and a few other factors,now they get to watch him walk away to hopefully go lay that egg in a spot of his choosing. Tommy D.
I truly believe based on his writing that he could VERY easily be the goose that WOULD have laid the golden egg for the game. Thanks to bad decisions,timing,and a few other factors,now they get to watch him walk away to hopefully go lay that egg in a spot of his choosing. Tommy D.
Thread drift. :grin-square:
Black-Balled, they are currently creating a brand-new bike path on Broad Branch Road in Northwest D.C. to connect with a bike path in Friendship Heights all the way to Bethesda, which means one can ride a bike from Bethesda all the way to the Watetgate Hotel on the Potomac. Should be complete by end of 2014. STRONG for bikers.
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled thread: Article by Badi Nazhat.
And not a fenty in sight!
Haha
It's a shame that Mr. Nazhat isn't going to be involved with pool any longer. This much is not debatable.
Could the event have been promoted better, perhaps.
Could the players have supported the event better, likely.
Will the people within the industry ever come together to correct this in the future, doubtful.
Could the event have been promoted better, perhaps.
Could the players have supported the event better, likely.
Will the people within the industry ever come together to correct this in the future, doubtful.
Pathetic Shark
Banned
Everything is pointless until we define what pool actually is.
Once defined, everything is pointless until there's a strong governing body.
Once there's a strong governing body, everything is pointless until there's a stable of pro players, all doing EXACTLY what they are told.
Unity, unity, unity.
Once defined, everything is pointless until there's a strong governing body.
Once there's a strong governing body, everything is pointless until there's a stable of pro players, all doing EXACTLY what they are told.
Unity, unity, unity.
Over the past year, I was fortunate enough to share many conversations with Badi Nazhat, some of them, very personal and others very broad in nature.
Badi is a selfless and driven man when it comes to his passion for pool. This love for the world of pool has been demonstrated tournament after tournament. The Ultimate 10 Ball Championship was his creation and each tournament was better than the last.
His love for pool is a great thing but it is his love for America that endears him most to me. Badi's patriotism makes me want to be a better American.
While I don't fully understand the purposes or responsibilities of the WPA (World Pool Association) and the BCA (Billiard Congress of America), it almost seems to me that neither entity considers themselves responsible for promoting pool, although they seem to hold the power to do so. Excuses and finger-pointing has been the standard for explaining why this doesn't happen and why this doesn't happen.
Badi Nazhat has attempted to step into the vacuum of leadership only to be rebuffed or at the very best, barely acknowledged for his incredible contributions not just of an enormous amount of money but of time, work and personnel to solve some of pool's problems. His examples of how pool tournaments should be held are benchmarks for the future.
In my opinion, Badi is the type of man that should be leading the WPA and the BCA. His altruistic nature is something you seldom see in today's successful men. It is my belief that very successful men like Badi, are far less concerned with what they can get out of an endeavor, than they are about what they can put into an endeavor. This is the type of leadership that we desperately need in pocket billiards.
It is my hope that Badi will stay close to pocket billiards, waiting for fair winds and support to come his way. Badi is a business man with far-reaching contacts OUTSIDE of the pool industry and can still take us to place that we only dream about.
I would love to see the BCA, WPA, the player's associations, the players, the fans and all that love our sport to publicly and privately volunteer to help Badi direct this ship.
Badi, thank you for all that you have done for pool but most of all thank you for your love of America.
Sincerely,
Joey Aguzin
Badi is a selfless and driven man when it comes to his passion for pool. This love for the world of pool has been demonstrated tournament after tournament. The Ultimate 10 Ball Championship was his creation and each tournament was better than the last.
His love for pool is a great thing but it is his love for America that endears him most to me. Badi's patriotism makes me want to be a better American.
While I don't fully understand the purposes or responsibilities of the WPA (World Pool Association) and the BCA (Billiard Congress of America), it almost seems to me that neither entity considers themselves responsible for promoting pool, although they seem to hold the power to do so. Excuses and finger-pointing has been the standard for explaining why this doesn't happen and why this doesn't happen.
Badi Nazhat has attempted to step into the vacuum of leadership only to be rebuffed or at the very best, barely acknowledged for his incredible contributions not just of an enormous amount of money but of time, work and personnel to solve some of pool's problems. His examples of how pool tournaments should be held are benchmarks for the future.
In my opinion, Badi is the type of man that should be leading the WPA and the BCA. His altruistic nature is something you seldom see in today's successful men. It is my belief that very successful men like Badi, are far less concerned with what they can get out of an endeavor, than they are about what they can put into an endeavor. This is the type of leadership that we desperately need in pocket billiards.
It is my hope that Badi will stay close to pocket billiards, waiting for fair winds and support to come his way. Badi is a business man with far-reaching contacts OUTSIDE of the pool industry and can still take us to place that we only dream about.
I would love to see the BCA, WPA, the player's associations, the players, the fans and all that love our sport to publicly and privately volunteer to help Badi direct this ship.
Badi, thank you for all that you have done for pool but most of all thank you for your love of America.
Sincerely,
Joey Aguzin
This is where we want to be - IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC EYE with an entertaining show.
I know you understand the importance of marketing and advertising an event to create promotional momentum. The geographic location is also VERY IMPORTANT (Tunica a "C" location compared to LA, Vegas, New York, and Dallas). There are people like the ones we work with in Dallas that would gladly help someone like Badi and we actually talked with him in Frisco Texas about doing some things in the future, but obviously not in Tunica.
Promoting Professional Pool is very similar to promoting professional bands/concerts. The first thing we did was determine:
1) What is the age demographic for the event
2) What is the male/female ratio going to naturally be? What do we want it to be?
3) What entertainment do we need to "open the show" ie: Magicians - Comedians - other Bands - (in pool this might be Trick Shot Shows with Mike Massey, etc)
4) What is the budget for advertising and how will it be allocated to Print Ads - Radio Ads - TV Ads - what other PR can we get and list all the available resources.
5) CHARITY - this one is very important because it opens up a lot of media doors and creates "Good Will" in the community......the public embraces associations that raise money for children, cancer research, breast cancer and other good causes
6) Who do we put in charge and hold responsible - this means they make money if they do well and are likely terminated if they fail. (someone in Tunica was fired...who?)
7) Use 1-6 to use to form an action plan to get the biggest media possible to showcase your event and this DOES MEAN TV.....not streaming video with a "TV TABLE"....it must be the REAL THING......ESPN, for example goes out to a potential of 112 Million Viewers in all sports bars, restaurants, cafes, businesses, etc, etc, etc, This is where we want to be - IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC EYE with an entertaining show.
I know you understand the importance of marketing and advertising an event to create promotional momentum. The geographic location is also VERY IMPORTANT (Tunica a "C" location compared to LA, Vegas, New York, and Dallas). There are people like the ones we work with in Dallas that would gladly help someone like Badi and we actually talked with him in Frisco Texas about doing some things in the future, but obviously not in Tunica.
Promoting Professional Pool is very similar to promoting professional bands/concerts. The first thing we did was determine:
1) What is the age demographic for the event
2) What is the male/female ratio going to naturally be? What do we want it to be?
3) What entertainment do we need to "open the show" ie: Magicians - Comedians - other Bands - (in pool this might be Trick Shot Shows with Mike Massey, etc)
4) What is the budget for advertising and how will it be allocated to Print Ads - Radio Ads - TV Ads - what other PR can we get and list all the available resources.
5) CHARITY - this one is very important because it opens up a lot of media doors and creates "Good Will" in the community......the public embraces associations that raise money for children, cancer research, breast cancer and other good causes
6) Who do we put in charge and hold responsible - this means they make money if they do well and are likely terminated if they fail. (someone in Tunica was fired...who?)
7) Use 1-6 to use to form an action plan to get the biggest media possible to showcase your event and this DOES MEAN TV.....not streaming video with a "TV TABLE"....it must be the REAL THING......ESPN, for example goes out to a potential of 112 Million Viewers in all sports bars, restaurants, cafes, businesses, etc, etc, etc, This is where we want to be - IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC EYE with an entertaining show.
Love It!! Go Jay and CJ...This is so solid. I love Jay and CJ, both have excellent ideas and experience. Jay is a masterful promoter. I don't see anything failing with these two minds involved in a project...It's a very simple plan but it's not confusing. It's short and "SOLID" and that's what is needed to have success. Not 1 person or 50 different people's ideas. Wasting energy on what's wrong with pool should not be the focus. The focus should be on taking the world by the throat and kicking it in the balls with a solid plan!!!
It's interesting that Badi raised those points in his article because it's something that I've thought about for a while. I think pool's lack of structure stems from the fact that proper governing organizations were never set up in the first place. When you look at other sports governing bodies generally aren't the ones responsible for running pro tours or pro events (at least in individual sports). They are the "protectors of the game" itself. They have the authority and respect to set rules that everyone more or less agrees to abide by, they set standards for equipment, they set the rules for amateur status and handicapping. They also might put on a handful of tournaments, but they don't run tours. The professional organizations run tours, hold events, have stats, player rankings, determine membership, codes of conduct, etc. Pool has never had that clear delineation. What it has are organizations that should do those things and fail miserably. They have finally outlived their usefulness (if there was any) and maybe someday we can start over.
Sure seems like a number of people are missing the whole point of Badi's statements. It's not about the low fan turnout, it's about the respect , or rather lack of respect, by the pro players. In this case, it is ALL on the players.
Strange how some want to twist what Badi said into an infomercial for their own agenda on promoting. He was, and is not about promoting, he is about giving to a passion of his. All he asked in return was respect for him and for the game. The pros couldn't even give that little bit in exchange for having somewhere to play and make some $$.
If the pros had bothered to act professional even a little bit, Badi THEN would have invested big $$ into actually making a tour, or at least several more big events. Which, at that point, I'm sure he has enough savy to promote it properly. His event was more of a "test the waters" thing, and the pros once again blew it for themselves.
Strange how some want to twist what Badi said into an infomercial for their own agenda on promoting. He was, and is not about promoting, he is about giving to a passion of his. All he asked in return was respect for him and for the game. The pros couldn't even give that little bit in exchange for having somewhere to play and make some $$.
If the pros had bothered to act professional even a little bit, Badi THEN would have invested big $$ into actually making a tour, or at least several more big events. Which, at that point, I'm sure he has enough savy to promote it properly. His event was more of a "test the waters" thing, and the pros once again blew it for themselves.
You are for sure right about the agenda thing.
You may know what Badi's intentions were, but just from reading his article (now for the second time) I don't see where he says it was about lack of respect at all.
Thanks
Kevin
Read post #78 for another insight into it.
JCIN makes an interesting point, which is that it may not only be about marketing to some target audience, but actually creating one. Fact is, even pool players have very little interest in watching pool.
I remember, maybe it was the first TAR (Shane vs somebody) I was so excited I ran to my local pool room with my computer and wireless connection so I could share this exciting event with everyone. People were far more interested in learning how I was grabbing internet out of the air (some time ago) then they were in the pool. And nobody even knew who Shane was. Can you imagine going to a court were people are playing pick-up basketball and nobody there knowing who the current NBA stars are?
CJ talks about marketing pool like its a concert or similar event. Hey people WANT to go to concerts, marketing for them is just about getting the word out. Pool is a bit trickier to market. First you have to make people want the product.
Kevin
I remember, maybe it was the first TAR (Shane vs somebody) I was so excited I ran to my local pool room with my computer and wireless connection so I could share this exciting event with everyone. People were far more interested in learning how I was grabbing internet out of the air (some time ago) then they were in the pool. And nobody even knew who Shane was. Can you imagine going to a court were people are playing pick-up basketball and nobody there knowing who the current NBA stars are?
CJ talks about marketing pool like its a concert or similar event. Hey people WANT to go to concerts, marketing for them is just about getting the word out. Pool is a bit trickier to market. First you have to make people want the product.
Kevin
Oh I did read that post and I'm not saying KD's insights aren't accurate, but they are KD's words, not Badi's, and you have to admit, Badi's words were well put and very readable and I f for one, didn't feel that they required translation. For me, if you are talking about people missing the point of Badi's statement, you might do best to stick to Badi's statement.
Thanks
Kevin
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different organizations
all of these different organizations reminds me of boxing w/ all the different belts.
I'm in no ways an expert in boxing, but love the sport, so i tried to educate myself in who were belt holders, etc and i was confused as hell when i realized that there were so many different belts/organizations.
boxing is in a world of hurt as well. but there are a few things that somewhat stabilized it. big name fighters (mayweather, pacquiao, delahoya) and some became promoters, i.e. delahoya.
on the flip side is the UFC. only one organization that holds the juice, all the others fell to the wayside. whatever your opinions of dana white, he's ruthless, but he is a savvy business man.
i agree w/ most posters, 1 organization
all of these different organizations reminds me of boxing w/ all the different belts.
I'm in no ways an expert in boxing, but love the sport, so i tried to educate myself in who were belt holders, etc and i was confused as hell when i realized that there were so many different belts/organizations.
boxing is in a world of hurt as well. but there are a few things that somewhat stabilized it. big name fighters (mayweather, pacquiao, delahoya) and some became promoters, i.e. delahoya.
on the flip side is the UFC. only one organization that holds the juice, all the others fell to the wayside. whatever your opinions of dana white, he's ruthless, but he is a savvy business man.
i agree w/ most posters, 1 organization